CHAPTER XXIII.
EL SALTO DEL FRAYLE.
The expeditious way in which the Jaguar had gained the capture of thecastle, by firing, without any previous summons, on the Commandant ofthe garrison and his officers, was, perhaps, not strictly loyal, orrecognized by the military code; but we must not forget that the Jaguarand his men were placed without the pale of the law by the Mexicans,that they were regarded as wild beasts, and a considerable rewardoffered for their heads.
Placed in such a position, the Texan insurgents must regard themselvesas freed from any courteous obligation toward their enemies, and in factwere so. Until they were permitted to treat on equal terms with theirold masters, they had only one thing to regard, namely, the object tobe attained: under the present circumstances they had attained it, andno more could be asked of them.
The Jaguar's first care, so soon as he was in possession of thefortress, was to have John Davis installed in a comfortable and airyroom; then he sent several men to the creek whence the expedition hadstarted, to fetch the clothes and anything the conspirators had leftthere.
During the works necessitated by the new occupation and an exactinspection of the important fortress the Texans had succeeded inseizing, day had broke, and the sun risen. The Jaguar, after taking allthe necessary precautions to prevent himself being surprised in histurn, took a telescope, and went up to the platform of the castle. Fromthis point the eye surveyed an immense landscape, and a magnificentpanorama was unrolled. On one side were the undulating Texan plains,which lofty mountains enclosed on the horizon; on the other, the seawith its grand and mysterious immensity.
The Jaguar first looked carelessly through the telescope at the town ofGalveston, which was beginning to wake up, and whose streets weregrowing gradually peopled; next at the mainland, and the entrance of theRio Trinidad, which was still plunged in a mournful solitude. Then,turning, he fixed the glass on the sea, and attentively examined thehorizon. Lanzi, carelessly lounging on a gun carriage, was rolling ahusk cigarette with all the serious attention he generally devoted tothis important operation.
"Lanzi!" the Jaguar suddenly said, as he hurried to him.
"Well!" he answered, raising his head, but not otherwise disturbinghimself.
"Do you know what has become of the Mexican flag we found in thecommandant's room?"
"Indeed I do not."
"You must go and enquire at once, my good fellow. So soon as you havegot it, bring it to me."
"Very good."
The half-breed rose and left the platform; in the meanwhile, the Jaguar,who was leaning over the parapet, seemed deeply interested. In fact, thechase of the privateer by the corvette was beginning at this moment! andthe two vessels appeared under full sail.
"Oh, oh," the Jaguar muttered, "how will it end? The brig is very smallto carry so large a vessel by storm! Nonsense," he added after a littlereflection, "we have seized the fort, then why should they not capturethe corvette?"
"I see nothing to prevent it," a voice said at his elbow.
The Jaguar turned and saw the half-breed standing by his side, with aroll of bunting under his arm.
"Well," he asked him, "where is the flag?"
"Here it is."
"Now, my friend, yon will hoist the flag on that staff; but, in orderthat our comrades may not mistake our meaning, mind and fasten a daggerto the top of the flag. The inhabitants of Galveston will not noticethis addition, while our friends, who have an interest in carefullyexamining what goes on here, will immediately understand what itsignifies."
Lanzi punctually carried out the order given him, and five minuteslater, the Mexican banner, surmounted by a dagger, was majesticallyfloating from the flagstaff. The Jaguar soon obtained the certainty thathis signal was understood, for the brig, closely pursued by thecorvette, waited till it had come within pistol shot of the fort ere ittacked, which it assuredly would not have done had there been any causeof fear.
During the greater part of the day, the Jaguar followed with thegreatest interest the progress of the two ships, and witnessed the finalincidents from his observatory. At about two in the afternoon, however,he went down into the interior of the fort, and, after recommending thegreatest vigilance to his friends, he armed himself, threw a zarap? overhis shoulders, and quitted the castle. By Lanzi's care, a horse had beenprepared for him near the foot of the rock: the Jaguar bounded into thesaddle, and after giving one glance at the fortress, he dug in thespurs, and started at a gallop. The Jaguar was proceeding to the Saltodel Frayle, where, on the previous evening, he had appointed to meet DonJuan Melendez de Gongora.
The coasts of Mexico are probably the most varied of all those in theNew World. The seaboard of Texas especially is so strangely broken up,that the mind loses itself in trying to discover what accident orantediluvian cataclysm could have been powerful enough to produce thesebold gaps and sudden fissures in the tall cliffs that border it.
Not far from Galveston, on the seashore, there is a rather wide road,whose capricious windings follow for a considerable distance the crestof the cliffs. This road is usually followed by the muleteers andtravellers of every description proceeding to Mexico. Being wide andconvenient, it might justly pass as excellent in a country where thehighways of communication are--or, at least, were--completely unknown,for at the present day, Texas possesses fine carriage roads, and longiron way. But at one spot, the road to which we allude suddenly breaksoff: the cliff, cleft as if by a giant's sabre stroke, displays ayawning abyss, about ten feet wide, and some seven hundred feet deep. Atthe base of this fissure the sea constantly breaks in fury, producing ahollow and monotonous sound. On the other side of the gap the roadbegins again.
In Europe, where government is necessarily occupied in improving themeans of communication, a remedy would easily have been found for thisinterruption by throwing a bridge across the fissure, but in America itis not so. The governments have something else to do than troublethemselves about the general welfare: in the first place, they have toraise as much money as they can by taxation; and next, defend themselvesagainst _pronunciamentos_ and ambitious men constantly on the watch tooverthrow them. The result is, that all goes on as it best can, and eachgets out of a hobble, in the best way he can contrive it.
Fortunately, the horses and mules, more intelligent than men, haveproduced a remedy for this neglect, thanks to that instinct ofself-preservation which God has bestowed on them. Nothing is morecurious than to see the passage of the fissure by a recua of mules.These animals come up gently, stretching over their necks, sounding theground at each step, and sniffing all around with signs of the mostlively alarm. On reaching the edge of the gap, they stiffen their frontlegs, bend the hind ones, and toss their heads; then all at once theytake their spring, and fall on the other side upon all four feet,without ever making a mistake.
Still, it is necessary that the man who is astride them shouldcompletely lay aside his own will, and abandon them entirely to theirinfallible instinct. If he attempt to guide them, it is all over: manand steed roll to the bottom of the precipice, which both reach in smallpieces.
As for the name of the Salto del Frayle or the Monk's Leap, which thisspot bears, the following is the motive for it, according to the localchronicle. It is stated (we affirm nothing, and in no way guarantee theveracity of the legend)--it is stated, we say, that a few years afterthe settlement of the Spaniards in Texas, a Franciscan monk, the PaterGuardian, or Prior, of his monastery, being accused of insulting amaiden whose confessor he was, escaped from the hands of the alguazilsent to seize him, and fled across country. After a very long chase, andwhen closely pursued by the soldiers, who were furious at theirinability to capture him, he reached the edge of this gap. Taking aglance at the abyss, the poor monk felt he was a lost man; recommendinghis soul to his patron saint, and calling Heaven to bear witness to hisinnocence, he leaped boldly across. The soldiers who arrived at thismoment distinctly saw two angels supporting the monk under the arms, andthey laid him in safety upon the othe
r bank.
The soldiers naturally fell on their knees, and implored the blessing ofthe holy man, whose innocence was thus distinctly proved to them. Thelatter turned to them with a radiant face, blessed them with emotion,and then disappeared, to the sound of celestial music, in a cloud ofpurple and gold. Such was the story the soldiers told on returning fromtheir expedition. Whether they spoke truly or falsely, no one ever knew;but one thing is certain, that from that moment nothing more was everheard of the monk. The populace, who are always lovers of themarvellous, put the most entire faith in this story, and an annualprocession was instituted, at which we had the honour of being present,and which, at each anniversary of the worthy prior's miraculous leap, isperformed with great ceremony, in the presence of an immense crowd whichhas arrived from very part of Texas.
Whatever may be thought as to the authenticity of this story, it iscertain that this spot is called the Monk's Leap, and it was here thatthe Jaguar had given the meeting to Colonel Don Juan Melendez. The sunhad sunk almost level with the horizon when the young man reached thegap. He looked around him; the road was deserted, so he dismounted,hobbled his horse, lay down on the ground, and waited.
He had been there about a quarter of an hour, when the sound of a horsegalloping reached his ear; he rose and looked round. He soon saw ahorseman turning a corner of the road and recognized the Colonel. Onreaching the Jaguar he bowed and leaped to the ground.
"Pardon me, my friend," he said, "for having kept you waiting, but it isa long distance from Galveston to this spot; and you and your comradesgive us so much to do, that, Viva Dios! we have not an instant toourselves."
The young man smiled.
"You are quite forgiven, Colonel," he said; "have you received any morebad news?"
"Neither good nor bad, but in truth very disagreeable; we learn that acorps of freebooters has been formed, of which you are stronglysuspected to be the Chief, and which at this moment is ravaging thewhole country."
"Have you heard no more than that?"
"Not up to the present."
"Well, before we part, I will give you some news, which, if I am notmistaken, will deeply annoy you."
"What do you mean, my friend? Explain yourself."
"Not at this moment. We have not come here to discuss politics, but ourown affairs. Let us proceed regularly. We shall always have time enoughto return to politics."
"That is true; but answer me one question first."
"What is it?"
"Is the news you have to tell me really serious?"
The Jaguar frowned and stamped his foot on the ground with suppressedviolence.
"Extremely serious," he said.
There was a moment's silence; at length the young man walked up to theColonel and laid his hand on his shoulder.
"Don Juan," he said to him in a kindly voice, "listen to me for amoment."
"Speak, my friend."
"Don Juan," he continued, "why do you so obstinately defend a lostcause? Why shed your generous blood in the service of tyranny? Texaswishes to be free, and will be so! Count the capable men who serve inyour ranks; with the exception of two, perhaps three, there is notanother you can mention: Mexico, exhausted by the revolutions whichincessantly overthrow it, has at its disposal neither men nor moneyenough to assume a vigorous offensive: the very name of Mexican isodious to the Texans. On all sides the people are rebelling against you;it is a constantly rising tide, which breaks down every dyke. You aresurrounded: within a month your army will be disgracefully expelled fromour territory. Reflect, my friend, for there is yet time; return yoursword to its scabbard, and leave fate to accomplish its task."
"Listen to me in your turn, friend," the Colonel answered, in a mournfulvoice. "What you have just said to me I knew as well as you do. I havefelt for a long time past that the ground trembles beneath our feet, andthat we shall ere long be swallowed up by the revolution; I thereforeform no illusion to the fate that awaits us. But I am a soldier, myfriend, I have taken an oath: that oath I must keep, at all risks.Moreover, I am a Mexican--do not forget that fact; I must, therefore,regard this question from a point of view diametrically opposed toyours. Besides," he added, with feigned gaiety, "we are not yet in thestate you imagine. You have certainly taken from us a few pueblos, butwe still have the towns, and hold the sea. You sing victory too soon;the Texan revolution is as yet only in the state of insurrection. At alater date, when it holds a strong town, and its government isconstituted, we shall see what is to be done; but for the present thereis no cause to despair, my friend, and you have not made the progressyou fancy."
"Perhaps so," the Jaguar answered, with an equivocal accent that causedthe Colonel to reflect. "I thought it my duty to speak to you as afriend, and give you some disinterested advice; if you will not take it,you are quite at liberty to neglect it."
"Do not feel annoyed; my remarks can have nothing to wound yourfeelings. I had no intention of vexing you when I spoke as I did. Butput yourself for a moment in my place; if I had made you the sameproposals you offered me, what would your answer have been?"
"I should have refused, by Heaven!" the young man exclaimed,impetuously.
The Colonel began laughing.
"Well, I acted as you would have done. What harm do you see in that?"
"That is true; you were right, and I am an ass! Forgive me, my friend.Besides, was it not agreed that political questions should neverseparate us? Let us, therefore, return to the object of our interview,which is of much greater importance to us, and temporarily leave theMexicans and Texans to settle matters as they can."
For some minutes the Colonel's eyes had been fixed on the sea, and hehad listened to his friend's remarks with a very absent air.
"Why," he suddenly said, "look there, my friend."
"What is it?"
"Do you not see?"
"What do _you_ see, let me ask in return?"
"Hang it! I see the _Libertad_ corvette, which has first anchored underthe guns of the Point Fort, bringing with her a privateer brig, whichshe has, in all probability, captured off the coast."
"Do you think so?" the Jaguar asked, sarcastically.
"Look for yourself!"
"My friend, I am rather like St. Thomas."
"What do you mean?"
"That as long as I am not completely convinced, I shall attach but veryslight faith to the testimony of my eyesight."
These words were uttered with such a singular intonation, that, inspite of himself, the Colonel felt ashamed. "What can you mean?" heasked.
"Nothing but what I say," the Jaguar answered.
"Still, I fancy I cannot be mistaken. I can very distinctly see theMexican flag over the reversed Texan colours."
"It is true," the Jaguar said, coldly, "but what does that prove?"
"What do you say?--'What does that prove?'"
"Yes."
"Are you so ignorant of naval matters, then, as not to know what takesplace on board a vessel after an engagement?"
"I beg your pardon, friend, but I know all about it. But I know, too,that what we see may be the result of a stratagem, and that the brig,after capturing the corvette, may have an interest in concealing thefact."
"Come, come," the Colonel said, with a laugh, "that is carrying optimisma little too far. Let us leave the corvette and brig, and return to ourown affairs."
"Well, I think you are in the right; for, judging from the turn theconversation has taken, we should presently be unable to understand oneanother at all."
During this conversation the sun had set, and night completely fallen.The two gentlemen passed their horses' bridles over their arm to preventthem straying, and then walked slowly, side by side, in the direction ofthe Rio Trinidad. The night was clear, the sky studded with a profusionof flashing stars, and the atmosphere of marvellous transparency; itwas, in a word, one of those American nights that conduce to gentlereverie.
The young men yielded involuntarily to the intoxicating charm of thisexquisite evening; yielding
to their thoughts, neither dreamed ofresuming a conversation suddenly broken off by a bitter remark. For along time they walked on thus, till they reached an angle in the road,where the track they were following divided into several branches. Herethey halted.
"We must separate here, Don Juan," the Jaguar said, "for we probably donot follow the same road."
"That is true, friend, and I regret it," the Colonel answered, sadly,"for I should be so happy if I had you constantly by my side."
"Thanks, friend, but you know that is impossible; let us, therefore,profit by the few moments left us to be together. Well, what have youdone?"
"Nothing, alas! For a soldier is the slave of discipline; in a period ofwar, more especially, it is impossible for him to leave his corps. Ihave, therefore, been unable to obtain any information. Have you beenmore fortunate?"
"I can hardly say, yet; still, I hope. Tranquil has this very night togive me certain information, which will perfect that I have myselfobtained."
"And is Tranquil here?"
"He arrived today, but I have not yet been able to see him."
"Then you imagine----?" the Colonel said, eagerly.
"This is what I have succeeded in finding out. Remark that I assertnothing; I am at this moment merely the echo of certain rumours, whichmay be well founded, but can also be false."
"No matter; speak, my friend, in Heaven's name."
"About six weeks ago, according to what my spies tell me, a strange manarrived in this country, bringing a girl with him. This man haspurchased a rancho, of no great value, situated a few leagues fromhere, nearly on the seashore. He paid cash for it, shut himself up inthe rancho with the girl, and since then no one has seen them. The manhas immured himself in his property, to which nobody has admission; butwhether this man be the White Scalper, and the maiden Carmela, no one isable to state positively, and I would not venture to affirm it. Severaltimes I have prowled round the abode of this mysterious being, but havenot succeeded in seeing him: windows and doors are constantly closed,nothing is heard of what takes place in this strange house, which,through its isolated position, is, to a certain extent, protected fromindiscreet visitors. This is what I had to tell you, perhaps tomorrow Ishall have learned more."
"No," Don Juan answered, pensively, "that man cannot be the WhiteScalper, or the maiden Carmela."
"What makes you think so?"
"The mystery with which the man surrounds himself. The White Scalper,you must not forget, is a man for whom the nomadic life of the desertpossesses too great charms for him to be willing to shut himself up. Andthen, what would be his reason for doing so? To keep a young girlprisoner? But Do?a Carmela is no frail and timid woman, weakened by themephitic air of cities, without will or strength. She is a brave andcourageous maiden, with a resolute heart and strong arm, who would neverhave consented thus to bow her head beneath the yoke. A man, howeverstrong he may be, is very weak, believe me, when he finds himself inpresence of a woman, who says to him boldly--No! Woman, through the merefact that she has generally only one thought at a time, is greatlysuperior to us, and nearly always attains the object she desires. Andthen again, for what reason can the White Scalper, who had in his handsa thousand unknown desert hiding places to conceal his captive fromsight, have retired without any plausible motive to the vicinity of atown, in a populous country, where he must expect to attract suspicionand arouse attention? No, it is evident to me that you are mistaken."
"Perhaps you are right; still, it is my duty to clear up the affair, andI will do so."
"Certainly, you will act prudently by doing so. I confess that, were itpossible, I should be happy to accompany you on your expedition. Foreven supposing, as I believe, that this man is not the White Scalper, itis probable that the mystery with which he surrounds himself conceals acrime, and that if your expedition does not meet with the result yousuppose, it will have, at any rate, served to liberate a maiden who isthe victim of odious tyranny."
"Who knows?"
"Only one man, in my opinion, could put you on the trail of her we haveso unfortunately lost, through the numerous relations he maintains withthe Indians."
"Whom do you mean?"
"Loyal Heart--"
"That is true. He was brought up by the Indians, and one of their tribeshas adopted him. He would be better able than anybody to supply us withinformation."
"Why have you not applied to him, then?"
"For the very simple reason that, on the day after the capture of theLarch-tree hacienda, Loyal Heart left us to return to his tribe, whitherserious matters recalled him."
"That is annoying," the Colonel said thoughtfully.
"I know not why, but I feel convinced that this hunter, with whom I ambut very slightly acquainted, as I only conversed with him once, andthat but for ten minutes--I am convinced, I say, that this hunter mayprove extremely useful to us in our search for the unfortunate Carmela."
"Perhaps you are right, Colonel. This night, as I told you, I am to seeTranquil, and shall have a serious explanation with him. He is asinterested as we are, perhaps more so, in the success of our researches.He is a man of extreme prudence, and thoroughly conversant with thedesert; I shall see what he says to me."
"Insist, I beg, friend, on establishing a friendly connection with LoyalHeart."
"I shall not fail; besides, Tranquil is sure to know where to find him."
"That is probable. Now, I can speak to you with open heart, my friend.Honour alone has hitherto kept me at my post; I desire to recover myliberty, and only await an honourable occasion to send in myresignation. I should not like to abandon my comrades in arms at acritical moment; but I swear to you on my honour, friend, that on theday when I am free, and that day is approaching I hope, I will join you,and then we shall find Carmela again, even at the risk of my life."
The Colonel uttered these words with a fire and animation which made hisfriend start involuntarily, and aroused in his heart a lively feeling ofjealousy. Still, the Jaguar had sufficient power over himself to concealthe emotion he felt, and he replied in a calm voice:
"May Heaven grant that it may speedily be so, my friend. What could wetwo not do?"
"Then you intend to make the expedition you told me of this night?" theColonel continued.
"It is not I, though I shall probably be present, but another person whowill direct it."
"Why not you?"
"Tranquil desires it so; he is Carmela's father, and I must yield to hiswishes."
"That is true. Now, when and how shall we meet again? I have thegreatest desire to learn what may occur tonight; whatever be the resultof the expedition, I trust to be informed of what you have done.Unfortunately, I fear it will be very difficult for us to meet again."
"Why so?"
"Why, my friend, you know as well as I do, the truce made betweenGeneral Rubio and yourself expires tonight."
"Well?"
"I presume you do not intend returning to Galveston?"
"For the present, no; but I hope to do so shortly."
"Let us not trust to probabilities, for we run too great a risk ofdeceiving ourselves."
The Jaguar burst into a laugh.
"You are perfectly right," he said; "still, it is important that weshould meet within the next twenty-four hours."
"Certainly."
"If I cannot enter Galveston, you can leave it, I suppose?"
"Oh, of course."
"Well then, the matter is easily arranged; I will tell you a spot whereyou will be certain of finding me."
"Take care, my friend, be prudent; I will not conceal from you that theGeneral is furious at having fallen into the trap you so cleverly laidfor him, and will do all in his power to seize your person."
"I expect so; but do not be alarmed, he will not succeed."
"I hope so, friend; but believe me, do not be too confident."
"I defy him to come and take me at the spot where I shall be within anhour, and where I shall be delighted to welcome you, if you are inclin
edto pay me a visit."
"And where is this privileged spot, my friend?"
"The Fort of the Point."
"What!" the Colonel said, suddenly stopping and looking him in the face;"Of course you are joking."
"Not the least in the world."
"What! You give me the meeting at the Fort of the Point?"
"Yes."
"Why, that is impossible."
"Why so?"
"Oh, you must be mad, my friend!"
"Remember that the fort has been in my hands for the past twelve hours,"the Jaguar coldly interrupted him. "I surprised it last night."
"Ah!" the Colonel exclaimed, in stupor.
"Did I not tell you that I had serious news to impart to you?" the youngman continued; "Would you like, now, to learn the second item?"
"The second!" the Colonel repeated, utterly astounded; "And what can thesecond item be? After what I have just heard, I can expect anything."
"The second item is this: the _Libertad_ corvette has been boarded bythe privateer brig, with which it and chored at sunset beneath the gunsof the fort."
At this unexpected revelation the Colonel staggered like a drunken man;he turned pale as a corpse, and his limbs were agitated by a convulsivemovement.
"Woe, woe!" he exclaimed in a choking voice.
The Jaguar felt moved with pity at the sight of this true and poignantgrief.
"Alas! my friend," he said gently, "it is the fortune of war."
"Oh, Galveston, Galveston!" the Colonel said in despair, "that citywhich the General has sworn never to surrender!"
After a moment's silence, the Colonel mounted his horse.
"Let me go," he said; "I must immediately impart these frightful news tothe Governor."
"Go, my friend," the Jaguar answered affectionately; "but, remember,that you will find me at the Fort of the Point."
"We are accursed!" the Colonel cried wildly, and burying his spurs inthe sides of his horse, which snorted with pain, he started at fullgallop.
"Poor friend!" the Jaguar muttered sadly, as he looked after him, "Thenews has quite upset him."
After this reflection, the young man mounted and went back to the fort,which he reached about half an hour later.